You.com
You.com: web search and research APIs for AI
Add web search, page extraction and cited research answers to AI applications with You.com’s Search, Contents, Answer and Research APIs.
Free plan availableAccount optional
- Access
- Free and paid plans
- Usage pricing
- USD 5 / 1,000 requestWeb Search API
- Available on
- API
Web retrieval and cited answers for AI applications
You.com’s main product offering provides web data and research APIs for developers. Search retrieves structured web and news results, Contents extracts pages from known URLs, and Answer turns a question into a response with citations. The services can support search interfaces, AI agents and applications that need information beyond a model’s stored knowledge.
General Research goes further with multiple searches and source reading. Effort levels change the depth and cost of a request, while source controls and an optional output schema make the result easier to fit into an application. Finance Research uses a dedicated financial index for questions about companies, markets and filings. It has a separate feature set, rather than every option from general Research.
Access combines paid usage with a limited free route. The keyless MCP profile provides search and discovery, while the wider API range uses account credits and authentication. Prices retain the difference between calls and extracted pages. Enterprise customers can request Zero Data Retention for Search and Answer under an agreement; it is not enabled by default across the product range.
Best for
- Developers building web-connected AI agents
- Teams adding search and cited answers to applications
- Organisations integrating programmable research
Limitations
Results depend on source coverage and freshness, and generated synthesis can contain mistakes. Calls, extracted pages and research effort have different costs. Free MCP access and enterprise privacy terms cover specific services.
You.com features
Structured web and news search
Retrieve URLs, snippets or relevant passages with locale, freshness and domain controls. Search supports up to 100 results per call.
Web page content extraction
Contents returns HTML or Markdown from supplied URLs. Search can also include full-page extraction, with separate charges for live-fetched pages.
Cited Answer API
Get a synthesised answer with source URLs, supporting excerpts and the web results considered. This service is available through REST.
Multi-step Research API
Choose Lite through Frontier effort, apply source controls and request structured JSON. Frontier runs in background mode.
Finance Research
Research company and market questions through a finance-focused index. Deep and Exhaustive have separate rates; source controls and JSON schemas differ from general Research.
MCP and enterprise data options
Connect supported tools through MCP, including limited keyless search. Enterprise Zero Data Retention covers Search and Answer only when added to the agreement.
You.com pricing
Free plan available. Usage-based pricing. Visit You.com for full plan details and current offers.
Example plans and usage rates; additional charges may apply.
Web Search API
USD 5 / 1,000 request
You.com
Plan details
Up to 100 results per call; news included. Live page extraction is charged separately.
Contents API
USD 1 / 1,000 document
You.com
Plan details
Per 1,000 web pages, not per batch request.
Live extraction add-on
USD 1 / 1,000 document
You.com
Plan details
Per 1,000 pages fetched live, in addition to Search calls; cached pages incur no extraction charge.
Technical specifications
Search and research
| Feature | You.com |
|---|---|
| Source corpus | Web and news sources, optional licensed Knowledge results, and a separate finance-focused index for Finance Research.Source coverage depends on the API |
| Citation workflow | Answer and Research return cited outputs and source references. Answer includes supporting excerpts and the considered web results.Cited synthesis APIs; raw Search returns result records |
| Document inputs | Queries and web URLs. Contents accepts up to ten URLs per request; it is a page extraction API, not a private-document notebook.Contents URL batch |
| Research workflow | Search returns structured results; Answer synthesises a cited response; Research adds effort tiers, source controls and optional JSON output. Finance Research has its own narrower controls.API-specific inputs and response options |
| Export formats | Structured JSON search results, HTML/Markdown page content, Markdown answers and optional schema-defined JSON from Research.Output format differs by endpoint |
| Research allowance (queries per stated period) | 100Per day on the keyless free MCP profile; search and discovery only |
| API access | SupportedREST APIs and supported MCP tools; Answer has no Product MCP tool |
You.com alternatives
Other research products for cited web answers, scientific literature and document-based learning.
Gemini Notebook
Research and study outputs from a selected collection of sources.
Compare with You.comYou.com FAQs
Is You.com free?
The keyless free MCP profile allows 100 search and discovery queries per day. Paid API access has an introductory USD 100 credit. Neither offer makes every API free without limits.
How much does the You.com Search API cost?
Web Search costs USD 5 per 1,000 calls, with up to 100 results per call. Full-page extraction adds USD 1 per 1,000 pages fetched live; cached pages have no extraction surcharge.
What is the difference between Answer and Research?
Answer provides cited synthesis in one call without effort tiers. Research supports multiple depth levels, source controls and an optional JSON schema. Finance Research uses a separate index and narrower options.
Is Zero Data Retention included automatically?
No. It is available for Search and Answer through an enterprise agreement and is enabled by You.com on request. The documentation does not extend it to Contents or Research by default.
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